CDLM Is the New Label From Chris Peters of Creatures of the Wind—Here Is Your First Look
CDLM is the new label from Chris Peters, one half of the duo Creatures of the Wind, and his first show will take place on September 5 on the eve of the New York Spring 2019 collections. Creatures, incidentally, is still very much in operation—Peters explains more about that in the conversation that follows—but suffice to say that he and design and life partner Shane Gabier are as committed to its continuing existence as they are to their respective solo design projects. The Creatures guys have always been interesting because while they’re in the thrall of fashion, they’re also smart enough to be able to have a clear perspective on it.
Right now, that means they’re trying to articulate new ways of working in the industry: to make meaningful, special, and relevant collections that aren’t shackled to an increasingly fraught and outmoded way of doing things. As everyone in fashion tries to find their footing on a landscape that’s forever changing, they’re doing what feels instinctively right to them, thinking about how much and when they need to be putting out newness into the world, and how they can work with the past—upcycling vintage, using fabrics already available—to make it work for today. One night in mid-August, Peters spoke about launching CDLM over dinner at an East Village Japanese restaurant, and the first thing that needed to be cleared up: What, exactly, do those letters stand for?
So, Chris, what’s the story behind the name CDLM?
It stands for Cueva de las Manos, which means “cave of the hands”; it’s the name of a cave painting in Santa Cruz in Argentina that I’ve been obsessed with for quite some time; in a very nerdy way, I’ve always been into cave paintings. I have a section of one that’s in Spain tattooed on my chest. There is something so deeply human about the art in those spaces, so real and profound. The collection is hand-focused so it plays off the idea of the many hands that it took to make it, but in the end, it is really about things that are important to me.
Explain to me about how CDLM fits into your Creatures of the Wind life with Shane; you’re both still doing that, right?
Yes. Last year, we decided we wanted to move Creatures to something more project-based. We had been doing it for 11 years; I started it when I was 23. We want it to be not so much about season-based releases, but instead pursue things that seem exciting and relevant to us. And we wanted to have the opportunity to work independently; Shane is now designing furniture. I wanted to go into menswear; that’s what I studied, that’s what I am interested in. The switch to women’s happened when I started dating Shane, and then Creatures happened.
You say it’s menswear, but it’s not that specific, right?
It’s a collection for anyone, really. The collection is based in menswear; there’s a sort of . . . pragmatism . . . and a general utility to menswear that I really like. And in the end, that’s nothing to do with gender; it’s the performative quality of those clothes I am into. With CDLM, men can buy it, women can buy it—everyone can buy it!
What spurred you on to start it, beyond rethinking your Creatures life?
Well, I was thinking about a capsule we did with Marley Natural, which does marijuana botanicals. I felt . . . it’s not that I felt unconnected to the product we have been making at Creatures, but the problem with fashion is that you are always kind of touching cultural moments and memories and these things in your life, and then you are putting it into a commercial project. You lose the . . . delicacy of why you started. With the weed project, we created the artwork, worked with vintage . . . and it sold out several times at Colette. I started CDLM in response to that, to try capturing a real appreciation of time, culture, and memory. Part of the collection is recycled vintage; you are not erasing history, but adding to it. I don’t want those pieces to feel like costume, but something new and exciting—playing with their existing identities. Also, there’s always an idea of punk, which I’ve been into since I was a teenager, and I can’t get rid of it!
Though it’s not at all ripped up and torn apart, there’s great tailoring in the collection, too—coats, jackets, those terrific pants with the perfect straight-leg shape . . .
I have an obsession with tailoring, the properness of dress, and how that can be subverted. We have jackets, but they’re not things you’d wear to a job interview—not unless it was a cool job!
Let’s talk a bit more about the clothes. I love the way there are so many entry points into it, like it’s a real wardrobe, one where every piece has really been considered—and touched by the human hand.
There’s a tuxedo jacket, a really beautiful silhouette, which has coat lining exposed across the back. From the front, it’s conventional, but then when you turn around you see washed, crushed satin. There’s a vintage military leather trenchcoat that I’ve cut the front of and turned it into a dress: chic, but with a bit of a pervy attitude. I like it when things look super normal but when you start to register they’re not things becomes more and more interesting. I wouldn’t say anything is about subtlety, but the emphasis is for people to wear it every day. Nothing is too fashion or precious or delicate.
And the reworked, upcycled pieces integrate into it really well; it’s, no pun intended, seamless.
Well, fashion is a polluting industry and it can be hard to acknowledge how damaging it is, the additional stresses it puts on the world. I have been working with a lot of vintage things like dead-stock fabrics, so you get limited runs—and it feels more tethered to history because of the age of the fabric. The fur and leather in the collection that I’ve sourced is almost 100 percent vintage, and it does provide a challenge as to how you can make these things feel special and new without looking like Frankenstein!
How are you sourcing the vintage pieces to fulfill orders?
I work with a network of people across the country, so it’s a lot of travel, a lot of meeting people. You get involved seeing where things come from. The stores are ordering the concept [of the piece], and there will always be a variation as to what they’re getting. Even those who were nervous with the possible inconsistencies are fine with it now, which has been awesome.
When did you actually start working on CDLM?
I started working on it last November, and I planned on showing during the men’s shows in Paris in January. And then, I realized a bit more about what I wanted the collection to be, so I pushed it back a bit. Also, the idea of showing in another country, without my friends and family around, so I ended up in September during New York Fashion Week. I love New York—and it’s easier to do it here when you have your husband and your dog with you.
Tell me about the show?
I’m very excited about it. It will be at the Peter Freeman Gallery, which is one of my favorites in the city; we really love Peter, and the gallery has such an amazing body of work that they represent. There is this very dreamy, kind of psychedelic way he curates his shows. There was a recent show curated by Ugo Rondinone, with sculptures from the 1970s and paintings from the 1980s, and artists from right now; it was so impulsive and gestural and personal—a genuine attachment to the world. [For casting] I am working with Midland, so it won’t be models, necessarily, just people whom I find beautiful. Also, we have some . . . I am inspired by so many wonderful people I thought I should put some of them in the show!
Okay, I won’t press you on that. The clothes you’re showing, they’ll be available soon after, no?
They’ll be available in October, with a majority of them available exclusively at the new Dover Street Market [DSM] in Los Angeles; Creatures has had such an amazing response selling at DSM. I think the nice thing is that I don’t have a real responsibility to be on a schedule. I just want to be really reactive, and I can produce things pretty quickly. I can take things as fast as I want, or not, which is exciting.
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